Game origin of the word

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• enPR: gām, IPA^(key): /ɡeɪm/
• Rhymes: -eɪm

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English game, gamen, gammen, from Old English gamen (“sport, joy, mirth, pastime, game, amusement, pleasure”), from Proto-West Germanic *gaman, from Proto-Germanic *gamaną (“amusement, pleasure, game», literally «participation, communion, people together”), from *ga- (collective prefix) + *mann- (“man”); or alternatively from *ga- + a root from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think, have in mind”).

Cognate with Old Frisian game, gome (“joy, amusement, entertainment”), Middle High German gamen (“joy, amusement, fun, pleasure”), Swedish gamman (“mirth, rejoicing, merriment”), Icelandic gaman (“fun”). Related to gammon, gamble.

Noun[edit]

game (countable and uncountable, plural games)

2. A playful or competitive activity.
   2. A playful activity that may be unstructured; an amusement or pastime.

      Synonyms: amusement, diversion, entertainment, festivity, frolic, fun, gaiety, gambol, lark, merriment, merrymaking, pastime, play, prank, recreation, sport, spree

      Antonyms: drudgery, work, toil

      Being a child is all fun and games.

   3. (countable) An activity described by a set of rules, especially for the purpose of entertainment, often competitive or having an explicit goal.

      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:game

      • 1983, Lawrence Lasker & al., WarGames:

        Joshua: Shall we play a game?
        David: … Love to. How about Global Thermonuclear War?
        Joshua: Wouldn’t you prefer a good game of chess?
        David: Later. Let’s play Global Thermonuclear War.
        Joshua: Fine.

      Games in the classroom can make learning fun.

   4. (UK, in the plural) A school subject during which sports are practised.

      • 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, London: Heinemann, →OCLC, page 37:

        From time to time, track-suited boys ran past them, with all the deadly purpose and humourless concentration of those who enjoyed Games.

   6. (countable) A particular instance of playing a game.

      Synonym: match

      Sally won the game.

      They can turn the game around in the second half.

      • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter I, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

        “I’m through with all pawn-games,” I laughed. “Come, let us have a game of lansquenet. Either I will take a farewell fall out of you or you will have your sevenfold revenge”.

   8. That which is gained, such as the stake in a game.
   10. The number of points necessary to win a game.

       In short whist, five points are game.

       See also: for the win

   12. (card games) In some games, a point awarded to the player whose cards add up to the largest sum.
   14. (countable) The equipment that enables such activity, particularly as packaged under a title.

       Some of the games in the closet we have on the computer as well.

   16. One’s manner, style, or performance in playing a game.

       Study can help your game of chess.

       Hit the gym if you want to toughen up your game.

       • 1951, J. D. Salinger, chapter 11, in The Catcher in the Rye, Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC:

         I played golf with her that same afternoon. She lost eight balls, I remember. Eight. I had a terrible time getting her to at least open her eyes when she took a swing at the ball. I improved her game immensely, though.

   18. (countable) Ellipsis of video game.

       • 2019 May 8, Jon Bailes, “Save yourself! The video games casting us as helpless children”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

         There’s a sense here, as well as in games such as Limbo, that we’re making ourselves experience our children’s reality, trapped in the chaos that the adults have created.

4. (now rare) Lovemaking, flirtation.
6. (slang) Prostitution. (Now chiefly in on the game.)

   • c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v], lines 61–63:

     ſet them downe, / For ſlottiſh ſpoyles of opportunitie; / And daughters of the game.

   • 1755, Tobias Smollett, translating Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, Volume 1, I.2:

     [H]e put spurs to his horse, and just in the twilight reached the gate, where, at that time, there happened to be two ladies of the game [translating mugeres moças], who being on their journey to Seville, with the carriers, had chanced to take up their night’s lodging in this place.

8. (countable, informal, nearly always singular) A field of gainful activity, as an industry or profession.

   Synonym: line

   When it comes to making sales, John is the best in the game.

   He’s in the securities game somehow.

10. (countable, figuratively) Something that resembles a game with rules, despite not being designed.

    In the game of life, you may find yourself playing the waiting game far too often.

    • 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 77, column 2:

      I ſee you ſtand like Grey-hounds in the ſlips, / Straying vpon the Start. The Game’s afoot:

    • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter I, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

      “I’m through with all pawn-games,” I laughed. “Come, let us have a game of lansquenet. Either I will take a farewell fall out of you or you will have your sevenfold revenge”.
12. (countable, military) An exercise simulating warfare, whether computerized or involving human participants.

    Synonym: wargame

14. (uncountable) wild animals hunted for food.

    The forest has plenty of game.

    • 1907, Burroughs, John, Camping & Tramping with Roosevelt‎^[2], Houghton Mifflin Company, →OCLC, pages 5-6:

      I had known the President several years before he became famous, and we had had some correspondence on subjects of natural history. His interest in such themes is always very fresh and keen, and the main motive of his visit to the Park at this time was to see and study in its semi-domesticated condition the great game which he had so often hunted during his ranch days; and he was kind enough to think it would be an additional pleasure to see it with a nature-lover like myself.

16. (uncountable, informal, used mostly for men) The ability to seduce someone, usually by strategy.

    He didn’t get anywhere with her because he had no game.

    • 1998, “She’s Strange”, performed by Nate Dogg:

      She’s strange, so strange, but I didn’t complain / She said yes to me when I ran my game

18. (uncountable, slang) Mastery; the ability to excel at something.

    • 1998, “He Got Game”, performed by Public Enemy:

      What is game? Who got game? / Where’s the game in life, behind the game behind the game / I got game, she’s got game / We got game, they got game, he got game

    • 2005, Kermit Ernest Campbell, Gettin’ Our Groove on: Rhetoric, Language, and Literacy for the Hip Hop Generation, →ISBN, page 123:

      In the contemporary arts of the academic contact zone, I say African American students got game!

    • 2009, Michael Marshall, Bad Things, →ISBN, page 24:

      My dad had game at that kind of thing, and I spent long periods as a child watching him.

20. (countable) A questionable or unethical practice in pursuit of a goal.

    Synonyms: scheme, racket

    You want to borrow my credit card for a week? What’s your game?

    • 1902, George Saintsbury, Dryden, page 182:

      It was obviously Lord Macaulay’s game to blacken the greatest literary champion of the cause he had set himself to attack.

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

• → Brazilian Portuguese: game
• → Dutch: gamen, game
• → Irish: géim
• → Japanese: ゲーム
• → Korean: 게임 (geim), 겜 (gem)
• → Norman: gamme
• → Norwegian: gamen, game
• → Spanish: game
• → Welsh: gêm

Translations[edit]

Adjective[edit]

game (comparative gamer, superlative gamest)

1. (colloquial) Willing and able to participate.

   Synonyms: sporting, willing, daring, disposed, favorable, nervy, courageous, valiant

   Antonyms: cautious, disinclined

   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 36, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 180:

     « […] But what’s this long face about, Mr. Starbuck; wilt thou not chase the white whale? art not game for Moby Dick?”

   • 2016 February 23, Robbie Collin, “Grimsby review: ‘ Sacha Baron Cohen’s vital, venomous action movie’”, in The Daily Telegraph (London):

     Some of Grimsby’s other (extraordinarily up-to-date) targets include Donald Trump and Daniel Radcliffe, whose fates here are too breath-catchingly cruel to spoil, and also the admirably game Strong, whose character is beset by a constant stream of humiliations that hit with the force of a jet of…well, you’ll see.

2. (of an animal) That shows a tendency to continue to fight against another animal, despite being wounded, often severely.
3. Persistent, especially in senses similar to the above.

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

game (third-person singular simple present games, present participle gaming, simple past and past participle gamed)

1. (intransitive) To gamble.

   • an impressive protest against gaming, swearing, and all immoral practices which might forfeit divine aid in the great struggle for National Independence

2. (intransitive) To play card games, board games, or video games.

   • 2017 June 16, Joanna Walters, “Inside the rehab saving young men from their internet addiction”, in The Guardian‎^[3]:

     “The first few days after getting here are weird. It’s a version of cold turkey because you’ve been gaming around the clock and suddenly, nothing. […] ”

3. (transitive) To exploit loopholes in a system or bureaucracy in a way which defeats or nullifies the spirit of the rules in effect, usually to obtain a result which otherwise would be unobtainable.

   • 2012 August 31, Amanda Holpuch, “Trolls game Taylor Swift competition in favor of school for the hearing impaired”, in The Guardian‎^[4]:

     A large batch of online trolls have gamed a web contest that promises a Taylor Swift performance at any school in the US. The target? Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

   • 2020 February 6, Alex Hern, quoting Natalie Hitchins, “Amazon Choice label is being ‘gamed to promote poor products’”, in The Guardian‎^[5]:

     “Amazon risks betraying the trust millions of customers place in the Amazon’s Choice badge by allowing its endorsement to be all too easily gamed,” said Which?’s Natalie Hitchins.

   • 2023 January 25, Christian Wolmar, “An informative cab ride on the state of the railway”, in RAIL, number 975, page 34:

     It is an example of what real entrepreneurship can do on the railway, but sadly there are not many other examples. Most of the private sector businesses in rail are simply ‘gaming’ the system, trying to outdo or outthink the regulator and the Government in order to generate profit.

4. (transitive, seduction community, slang, of males) To perform premeditated seduction strategy.

   • 2005 October 6, “Picking up the pieces”, in The Economist‎^[6]:

     Returning briefly to his journalistic persona to interview Britney Spears, he finds himself gaming her, and she gives him her phone number.

   • 2010, Mystery, The Pickup Artist: The New and Improved Art of Seduction, Villard Books, →ISBN, page 100:

     A business associate of mine at the time, George Wu, sat across the way, gaming a stripper the way I taught him.

   • 2010 July 9, Sheila McClear, “Would you date a pickup artist?”, in New York Post‎^[7]:

     How did Amanda know she wasn’t getting gamed? Well, she didn’t. “I would wonder, ‘Is he saying stuff to other girls that he says to me?’ We did everything we could to cut it off […] yet we somehow couldn’t.”

Derived terms[edit]

• game the system
• gamer

Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adjective[edit]

game (comparative more game, superlative most game)

1. Injured, lame (of a limb).
   • around 1900, O. Henry, Lost on Dress Parade

     You come with me and we’ll have a cozy dinner and a pleasant talk together, and by that time your game ankle will carry you home very nicely, I am sure.»

See also[edit]

• game on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams[edit]

• MEGA, Mega, mage, mega, mega-

Chinese[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• (leetspeak) 驚／惊 (geng¹)

Etymology[edit]

From English game.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

game

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) game (especially video games and online games) (Classifier: 隻／只 c)

Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

• English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ɡeːm/
• Hyphenation: game
• Rhymes: -eːm

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from English game.

Noun[edit]

game m (plural games, diminutive gamepje n)

1. A video game, an electronic game.

   Synonyms: videogame, videospel

Hyponyms[edit]

• computerspel

[edit]

• gamen
• gamer

Etymology 2[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb[edit]

game

1. first-person singular present indicative of gamen
2. (archaic) singular present subjunctive of gamen
3. imperative of gamen

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old English gamen, gomen, from Proto-West Germanic *gaman, from Proto-Germanic *gamaną, of disputed origin.

Alternative forms[edit]

• gamen, gemen, gomen, gome, gammen, gaume, gamme, gamin, gomin, gomyn, gomun, gam, geme

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡaːm(ə)/, /ˈɡam(ə)/, /ˈɡaːmən/, /ˈɡamən/
• (from OE gomen) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɔːm(ə)/, /ˈɡɔːmən/
• (Kent) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɛːm(ə)/, /ˈɡɛːmən/

Noun[edit]

game (plural games or game)

1. Entertainment or an instance of it; that which is enjoyable:
   1. A sport or other outdoor or physical activity.
   2. A game; a codified (and often competitive) form of entertainment.
   3. Sexual or romantic entertainment or activity (including intercourse in itself).
   4. An amusing, joking, or humorous activity or event.
2. Any kind of event or occurrence; something that happens:
   1. An endeavour; a set of actions towards a goal.
   2. Any kind of activity having competition or rivalry.
3. The state of being happy or joyful.
4. Game; wild animals hunted for food.
5. (rare) One’s quarry; that which one is trying to catch.
6. (rare) Gamesmanship; gaming behaviour.
7. (rare) The reward for winning a game.

Derived terms[edit]

• gameful
• gamely
• gamen

Descendants[edit]

• English: game, gammon (dialectal gam) (see there for further descendants)
• Scots: gemme, gem, gyem
• Yola: gaame, gaume, gaaume

References[edit]

• “gāme, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-07-09.

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old English gæmnian, gamnian, gamenian.

Verb[edit]

game

1. Alternative form of gamen

Portuguese[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English game.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɡejm/, /ˈɡej.mi/

Noun[edit]

game m (plural games)

1. (Brazil) electronic game (game played on an electronic device, such as a computer game, a video game or the like)

   Synonyms: videojogo, jogo

Quotations[edit]

For quotations using this term, see Citations:game.

See also[edit]

• jogo

Etymology 2[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation[edit]

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -ɐmɨ, (Brazil) -ɐ̃mi
• Hyphenation: ga‧me

Verb[edit]

game

1. inflection of gamar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish[edit]

Noun[edit]

game m (plural games)

1. (tennis) game

Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English game. Attested since 1900.

Pronunciation[edit]

• Homophone: gem

Noun[edit]

game n

1. (tennis) game

Declension[edit]

Declension of game
	Singular	Plural
Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	game	gamet	game	gamen
Genitive	games	gamets	games	gamens

Derived terms[edit]

• gammal i gamet

References[edit]

• game in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• game in Svensk ordbok (SO)

Recent Examples on the Web

Most of the game was centered around Graham Ashcraft and Bryce Elder.


—Bobby Nightengale, The Enquirer, 11 Apr. 2023




The 6-foot-8 Howell averaged 9.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for the Warhawks — one of the Jaguars’ Sun Belt Conference rivals — this past season.


—Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 11 Apr. 2023




Throughout the game, the two were also seen amicably chatting between themselves and with a friend.


—Rosa Sanchez, Harper’s BAZAAR, 11 Apr. 2023




The game also introduced more great characters like Yoshi and Bowser’s throng of Koopalings.


—Jacob Linden, Popular Mechanics, 11 Apr. 2023




Gobert threw a punch at Anderson during a timeout in the second quarter of the game.


—oregonlive, 10 Apr. 2023




The winner moves on to face the loser of the 7 vs. 8 game.


—Tim Reynolds, Chicago Tribune, 10 Apr. 2023




Shohei Ohtani grounded out with the bases loaded to end the game.


—Noah Trister, ajc, 10 Apr. 2023




Counsell managed the 1,180th game of his career as the Brewers faced the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field to tie Phil Garner’s franchise record.


—Journal Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2023

Jackson reflected on Sajak’s tough love in a post-game interview with Sajak’s daughter Maggie Sajak.


—Edward Segarra, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2023




Pacers rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin will be available for the Pacers against the Hornets Monday night, Rick Carlisle told reporters in Charlotte in his pre-game interview.


—Dustin Dopirak, The Indianapolis Star, 20 Mar. 2023




The Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green sounded off on Black History Month during a post-game press conference Tuesday.


—Julia Johnson, Washington Examiner, 1 Mar. 2023




The Heat had an announcement of their own after pre-game warmups, just as people were arriving to the arena: Jimmy Butler suffered from lower back tightness and would sit out, too.


—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 25 Jan. 2023




Despite the win and the offense’s recovery from its slumber earlier in the week in a loss at DePaul, Miller spent the entirety of his post-game press conference unhappy.


—Adam Baum, The Enquirer, 21 Jan. 2023




In the days leading up to his return, Garland went through shootaround, practice and pre-game warmups with that same wrap around his thumb.


—Chris Fedor, cleveland, 7 Jan. 2023




Their only recommendation was a better post-game family area with more accessibility for players’ families.


—Safid Deen, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2023




Pre-game happy hour Nothing like a happy hour to liven spirits before a sporting event.


—The Enquirer, 22 Feb. 2023

The large battery and cooling tech can keep you gaming for long stretches, and Asus has some unique accessories to improve the experience.


—WIRED, 30 Mar. 2023




Unfortunately, that was the one and only game his dad, Kyle Green, could get to Milwaukee this season.


—Lori Nickel, Journal Sentinel, 29 Mar. 2023




Hearst Autos doesn’t need to game algorithms for traffic or promote lousy products to earn a buck.


—Gannon Burgett, Car and Driver, 28 Mar. 2023




Even though the park was already deep into development by the time of the takeover, Disney wanted to pull its intellectual property but eventually settled with the operator, gaming giant Genting.


—Caroline Reid, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2023




Who says Apple can’t game?


—Antonio G. Di Benedetto, The Verge, 20 Mar. 2023




Totoki touted upcoming movies titles like Gran Turismo, the success of Sony Pictures Television’s The Last of Us for HBO and another ten projects at the film and TV studio that similarly has gaming IP and are ripe for adaptations on other media platforms.


—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2023




Officials have said that the crackdown on the tech industry, which saw a flurry of regulations torpedo the influence of companies from gaming to online education, has ended.


—Meaghan Tobin, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2023




Mark Hamelburg, a senior vice president at AHIP, an industry group, said that insurers aren’t gaming the payment system and that they are supposed to do a complete and accurate job of recording enrollees’ diagnoses.


—Anna Wilde Mathews, WSJ, 2 Mar. 2023


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